NEWS WATCH

NEWS WATCH; The Latest Fitness Craze: Play More Video Games

By IAN AUSTEN

Published: May 31, 2001

Neil Nusbaum has an unusual prescription for increasing the fitness of children: they should play more video games. But while they play, says Mr. Nusbaum, the president of Hollywood Engineering, they should be pedaling stationary bicycles that his company has modified to act as controllers for Sony PlayStations.

''With this,'' he said, ''we can keep a kid on a bike for 30 to 40 minutes, sweating and having a great workout.''

The CycleFX Game Rider and Game Rider Directcontrol, which will be out this summer, integrate cycling into any PlayStation racing game, including those with competition between monster trucks rather than Lycra-clad athletes. Players change direction using handlebars fitted with standard PlayStation control buttons, and their pedaling rate determines on-screen speed.

The Game Rider ($599) is a full stationary bike that acts as a controller. The Directcontrol version ($399) is a hardware and software package that fits either ordinary bicycles or stationary bikes and turns them into game controllers. With either version, up to two Game Riders can be connected to a PlayStation unit for racing between human rather than just virtual opponents.

Players will have to be content with getting their on-screen amusement from racing games alone. ''We don't get into baseball or shoot-'em-ups,'' Mr. Nusbaum said. IAN AUSTEN